Virtual theater is an idea i’ve been wanting to investigate for a long time, and now the university of Buffalo has experienced with it.
It is called Human Trials, and features an immersive environment for a “player”, but also for the actors that interact with him ! Be sure to watch one of the videos (3mins, 80mb).
Here’s a follow-up :
http://spectrum.buffalo.edu/article.php?id=31094
Arts & Life – FEBRUARY 19th, 2007
‘Nick Arcade’ for college students
WILLIAM WRIGHT – Staff Writer
On any other occasion, mixing a videogame, a theater production and an audience volunteer together in a blender would yield a bloody mess. Last Thursday at the Center for the Arts however, the concoction proved to be one of the most original, abstract art exhibits of the year.
InterMedia Performance Studio, in collaboration with the media study, computer science, engineering and theatre and dance departments allowed the audience to see how an adventure quest in a virtual land would pan out in the sole demonstration of “Human Trials.”
The virtual reality drama, performed for free on the second floor of the CFA, was conceived by Josephine Anstey and directed by Sarah Bay-Cheng.
At the beginning of the show, demonstrators asked for an audience volunteer. Using a virtual reality headset, the player was guided through the world by two virtual companions, played by Robert Tucker and Bryan Patrick Stoyle of the Theater Department.
The rest of the audience was able to see the virtual reality drama play out via three projections displayed on the wall of the room. The middle projection presented the player’s perspective of the colorful videogame -like world, while the other two showed the guides’ point of view.
The graphics didn’t look like X-Box 360, but they were decent enough that the player’s boundaries were distinguishable.
The player, also called the “seeker,” was then told that he or she was on a quest (though the type of quest remained ambiguous) and was asked to follow the guide’s instructions in order to complete this mission. The quest started out with the trio frolicking in a meadow-like setting while the player adjusted to the controls.
Soon enough, however, the game grew serious as one of the guides was captured and it became up to the seeker and the remaining guide to rescue him.
While watching the story unfold, the audience members filled out a questionnaire of yes-and-no questions regarding the integrity and effort of the player, such as “the seeker took initiative…y/n.”
By the end of the game, it was the audience who played judge and jury and decided the fate of the player depending how they answered the questionnaire sheet. The viewers would hold up a small blue light if they answered more questions with a “yes” or a yellow light if they answered more questions with a “no.”
The stage manager then tallied the ratio of blue to yellow lights, which determined between two possible endings or the quest.
Although it might sound complicated, the production crew did a brilliant job performing and explaining the piece to the spectators. The player on the other hand wasn’t so lucky.
“I wasn’t nervous but I didn’t know what to expect,” said participant Erin Dandes, a music theater major. “I didn’t know if I could talk or not. I didn’t know what was going to happen.”
Incorporating a number of different artistic styles — part virtual reality, part fairytale — the audience was taken for an interesting ride. With each person in the room having a purpose, “Human Trials” integrated everyone into the storyline, making the audience just as important as the characters to the fulfillment of the quest.
“I liked the Red Kings part,” said Cassie Mathews, a history major. “They looked like chess figures. It was nice to get the audience involved too.”